A special tribute
 Harmony Halls
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Grand Rapids Chapter held a special tribute for three chapter members, Ed Gaikema and Gordy Hall, members of the 1944 international champion HARMONY HALLS Quartet, and Emerson Sperling, a 46-year chapter member and tenor of the PITCH PIPERS. Interviews with the three men and their wives were videotaped, with copies of the tape presented to each man and one copy to the chapter archives.
Also honored posthumously were Roy Hall and Bob Hazenberg, both members of the HARMONY HALLS, who were inducted into the Great Lakes Hall of Fame.
Wow! A 50-foot Cake!
April 11, 1988, marked 50 years for our society. How better to celebrate the Golden Anniversary of SPEBSQSA than with a 50-foot long birthday cake! Jim Styer, Battle Creek convention public relations man, dreamed up the idea. The cake was donated by a local bakery for the April 22-24 (spring) convention at the Stouffers Battle Creek Hotel. Plans were to have the cake decorated resembling a long barber pole. An appropriate first cutting of the cake was made by Past International President Darryl Flinn and Pioneer District President Earl Berry. The first piece went to the oldest Pioneer District barbershopper present, Harold McAttee, who had been a member for 48 years.
The competition was tough
 Ivy League
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 Hi Tech
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The IVY LEAGUE and HI-TECH won the right to represent the Pioneer District at San Antonio in July. In a spirited contest at the spring convention, both quartets dueled through the two sets to win the district honors, with IVY LEAGUE winning by a slight margin (eight points) over HI-TECH. Twelve quartets vied for the honor.
 Midstatesmen Dist88
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In somewhat of a surprise, the Gratiot County MIDSTATESMEN Chorus took the district chorus championship honors by outpointing 15 other choruses in a superb contest. This is the first time that Gratiot County has ever won the district crown. The Wayne RENAISSANCE Chorus, the continual winner in the past, finished a close second, nine points behind.
San Antonio reflections
Our 50th international anniversary convention was celebrated in high style in San Antonio, Texas, the first week in July, 1988. It was a first-class convention, and most impressive was the cordiality, courteousness, fellowship and dedication of all those who attended. Pioneer District was well represented.
This convention proved golden indeed for Chicago and Dallas as the CHIEFS OF STAFF, from the Chicago area, won the international quartet competition, and Dallas Metro's VOCAL MAJORITY captured its fifth gold chorus medal.
Our chorus, the GREAT LAKES Chorus from Grand Rapids did a fantastic job. Their 14th place finish was honorable, considering they were up against the likes of the great Dallas VOCAL MAJORITY, the Louisville THOROUGHBREDS, the PHOENICIANS from Phoenix and the fabulous DUKES OF HARMONY from Scarborough, Ontario.
In the quartet competition, HI-TECH performed admirably, finishing 37th, and the IVY LEAGUE put on a whale of a show to finish 30th.
In memory, Willis A. Diekema
 Willis Diekema
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Willis A. Diekema, composer of the Society's theme song, "Keep America Singing", died October 27, 1988 at the age of 96. In addition to writing music, he was an arranger and served as a member of the International Board of Directors.
Diekema joined SPEBSQSA as a chapter member of the Holland, Michigan chapter in 1945. In 1947 he became a member of the Society's International Board of Directors.
Diekema was a member of the Society's Song Arrangements Committee in 1946 and 1947 and was chairman of that committee in 1948. The committee evolved into the College of Arrangers and Diekema was named chairman of that group in 1957.
His composition of "Keep America Singing" was introduced at the international convention in Milwaukee in 1947. While Willis and his daughters (his wife Beatrice died October 22, 1988,) lived in Largo, Florida, he also maintained a home in Michigan. A memorial service was held at Hope Church in Holland, Michigan, where Willis had been choir director and a member of the church for 85 years. The Holland Chapter Chorus sang at the service.
Fall convention featured first Pioneer District Seniors quartet contest
With so many of Pioneer members being seniors it had to happen! The first district contest for seniors (age 55 and over) was held at the fall convention in Battle Creek, October 15, 1988. The rules were rather simple: contestants must be at least 55; the age of the four quartet members must total 240 years or more; a foursome would qualify, for example, if they have one 55, one 65, and two at 60. It was a fine showcase of talent.
 Four Fits
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Since this was the first year of the Seniors Quartet contest, the rules were somewhat relaxed. Quartets did not have to be registered with international although it was preferred. Quartets were judged in the same four categories as in regular contests. Trophies were awarded to the top three quartets. The champions were the FOUR FITS (John Wearing, tenor; Russ Seely, lead; Ray McCalpin, bari; and Marv Burke, bass) of Grosse Pionte.
New officers elected
 Clay Jones
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Clay Jones was unanimously elected our new district president for 1989 at the House of Delegates meeting during the fall convention in Battle Creek. Michael O'Donnell was moved up to the executive vice president's slot from division III vice president. Two new additions to the Board for 1989 included Dale Mattis, who replaced Mike O'Donnell, and Jack Drennan, who was elected district director of music education. Also elected were incumbents Jack Schneider, secretary; Fran Jones, treasurer; Russ Seely, division I vice president, Byron Davis, division II vice president; Bob Tracy, division IV vice president; Paul Lehmkuhle, division V vice president; and Roger Lewis, director of convention planning.
Two inducted into Hall of Fame
At ceremonies conducted during the House of Delegates meeting, two new names were added to the Pioneer District Hall of Fame. Bob Tracy and Tom Pollard were the two men selected to receive this prestigious award from the district. It was indeed unfortunate that Tom Pollard passed away in September, just a month before he was to receive the award. His wife Gloria and sons Craig and Jim were in attendance to receive the award for Tom posthumously.
 Tom Pollard
|  Bob Tracy
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We do not have pictures of the individuals named in the blank frames. If you have a picture of any missing individual and are willing to share it, please contact Steve Sutherland
[Unfortunately, not much information was available on the Hall of Fame recipients for the years 1985, 1986 and 1987. We do know that Roger Morris from the Milford Chapter received the award in 1985, Francis Jones from the Detroit #1 Chapter was honored in 1986, and J. Emerson Sperling from the Grand Rapids Chapter was named in 1987.]
 Roger Morris
|  Francis Jones
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J. Emerson Sperling
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We do not have pictures of the individuals named in the blank frames. If you have a picture of any missing individual and are willing to share it, please contact Steve Sutherland Contest results Grand Rapids GREAT LAKES Chorus won the chorus competition and will represent the Pioneer District at the international chorus contest in July, 1989. The quartet LEGACY (Wendell Pryor, tenor; Denny Gore, lead; Mike McClary, bass; and Clay Shumard, bari) is the Pioneer District champion; COLLECTOR'S CHOICE is the Pioneer District junior quartet champion, and VOCAL GENTRY is the novice quartet champion. In memoriam - Hugh Ingraham One of the finest barbershoppers in the Society, Executive Director Hugh Ingraham passed away Saturday, July 23, 1988. Hugh worked 25 years at our international office, first as director of communications and for the last 11 years as our executive director. Hugh will be remembered for his abilities as a family man, barbershopper, an able administrator, and as a "all around great guy!"
Legacy
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